All parents want their children to succeed in life. To be happy, healthy and do something they love. But the one thing I truly hope my children have in life is some good old grit.

I want them to know that as we travel through our journey there are employers who won’t hire us, promotions we won’t receive, and invitations to parties that never arrive. There are always going to be people who put you down and say you aren’t good enough. Because as an anonymous quote once said, “You aren’t everyone’s cup of tea.” The thing is you have to remember what Don Miguel Ruiz, author of The Four Agreements, said, “Nothing others do is because of you.” What other people think of you is none of your business.

The only power you should give people who try to deflate you is the power to help you rise. To work harder, think outside the box, and be you as only you can.

That’s grit. The content of your character. It’s what admissions boards, employers and life partners are looking for.

You will doubt yourself, you will fall and you will fail. But that is always what comes first. If you just keep moving forward, you will move that mountain one day.

As Travis Bradberry, emotional intelligence author, once said, “Grit is that ‘extra something’ that separates the most successful people from the rest. It’s the passion, perseverance, and stamina that we must channel in order to stick with our dreams until they become a reality.”

So if things don’t go your way today, remember the lesson offered and receive the gift of grit that will give you the life you truly deserve and desire.

Siobhan Kukolic is a storyteller at heart. She writes to inspire the belief that we have all we need to be the change we wish to see. She recently published her first book, available on Amazon and Indigo. The Treasure You Seek is about following your heart, believing in yourself beyond reason, embracing failure and knowing that you are enough. It includes inspirational stories about famous failures, cultural icons, world leaders and regular folks like you and me. The goal is to remind us that we have all we need to be the change we wish to see. A perfect read for graduates from elementary school through university, people starting their career, changing jobs or retiring, friends going through a medical crisis, new parents, empty nesters and anyone who wants to be inspired. She started her career as a copywriter working on campaigns for organizations including Esso, Mead Johnson Nutrition, Grand & Toy, Labatt, and SC Johnson. While raising her kids, she volunteered as co-chair of her school council for seven years, helped get eight 20-foot maples donated for an eco-classroom and co-ordinated the building of a school peace garden with 115 donated trees and shrubs for Earth Day. She co-founded a not-for-profit movement called Blueberry Shark, named after a healthy fruit and the only animal that doesn't get cancer, with a mission to create the healthiest kids in the world. By providing a voice for those who didn't have one, she rallied enough media attention to help crowd-fund $105,000 in two weeks to pay for an unfunded drug for a mother of two dying of stage-four brain cancer. She also used media attention to nudge the government to change drug coverage policy right before an election and get a $360,000 a year drug covered for a 12-year-old cystic fibrosis patient. Her letters to the editor are frequently published in the National Post and she has represented her neighbourhood by making deputations at city council and the school board. She spends her time blogging, speaking to students and corporations about grit, and juggling the schedules of her three kids as they follow their dreams in competitive Irish dance and ice hockey. www.siobhankukolic.com

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